The invention relates to a signal processing means, particularly for heart pacemakers, comprising a signal reception part and a routing device which routes specific signal information for storage in data memories provided for that purpose.
Signal processing means of this type, particularly for use in heart pacemakers, should exhibit a plurality of information memories which can be individually inscribed with signal information such as frequency, amplitude course, hysteresis, etc. In general, this inscription ensues in such manner that all necessary information concerning the pacemaker signal to be employed is input by means of a suitable program generator from the outside, i.e. through the skin, for routing into the information memories. In practice, this assumes the aspect that all new information is prescribed by the physician and is finally also input programwise by said physician. In the normal case, the patient himself can then exercise no influence on the input information. In contrast to this standard employment, however, there is often a desire that a subsequent regulation of the information, at least given very specific information, should also be possible by the patient to a limited degree. For example, it should be possible that a specific information should be changeable by the patient within certain limits in accord with the different demands of the daily rhythm. The provision of such a possibility of change by the patient, however, presumes that measures are undertaken that see to it that only the admissable magnitude not, however, other information already inscribed can be changed by the patient,